New Delhi: A day before counting of votes, last minutes consultations are on in the Bharatiya Janata Party. RSS leader Suresh Soni on Thursday met BJP chief Rajnath Singh at his residence in New Delhi. However, the details of the meeting are not known even as there are reports that the BJP is trying to define a new role for the party veterans Like Murli Manohar Joshi and Lal Krishna Advani.
The BJP is also planning a grand welcome to its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in New Delhi on May 17. The portfolios of the new ministers is also likely to be discussed at the BJP Parliamentary Board meeting on May 17.
Sources have told CNN-IBN that depending on numbers, the NDA may prefer to have a small Union Cabinet. But every ministry will have more Ministers of State to establish a hierarchical structure to expedite decision making. Sources also added that some ministries in key infrastructure sectors like Fertilizers and Consumer Affairs may be subsumed for better coordination, they may be brought under the Ministry of Agriculture.
To discuss the process, party's top leaders like Rajnath, Modi, Arun Jaitley and Nitin Gadkari met in Gandhinagar on Wednesday. "I will call a meeting of all senior leaders, and their roles will be defined after due consultations," said Rajnath.
However, the crucial issue remains what role veterans like Advani and Joshi will be given. Sources close to Advani have said that he may take a constitutional post like that of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Joshi is in contention for a key ministry, especially one of the top four, which include Defence, Finance, External Affairs and Home.
Jaitley is being considered for Finance and Defence, Sushma Swaraj for External Affairs and Defence Ministries while Arun Shourie for a key Economic Affairs ministry. Gadkari may get the Infrastructure portfolio while Karnataka strongman BS Yeddyurappa is a possible nominee for the Agriculture portfolio.
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